DRIVERS are warned to be on their guard as a new speed camera system goes live today.

The first permanent average speed cameras in Sussex have been installed in Marine Parade, Brighton.

The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) is also installing a similar camera in Hastings, which is expected to go live in May.

Both sites have previously had conventional fixed cameras but it is believed the new cameras have more of an impact on driver behaviour for a longer period of time.

They work by recording the time that a vehicle enters and exits the zone covered by the camera system.

In tests, almost a tenth of drivers in Marine Parade, which sees up to 27,000 vehicles a month, were found to exceed the 36 mph threshold for receiving a £100 fine.

However, some drivers will be given a chance to go on to speed awareness course instead of getting a summons.

The cameras have been installed in order to keep road users safer for a longer period of time.

Research shows speed limit compliance, congestion and commuter times are all improved with the use of these types of speed cameras.

An SSRP spokesman said: “We are aware fixed speed cameras are very effective at influencing driver behaviour at specific locations and that behavioural change can last for some distance.

“However, at some sites the driver’s caution is not sustained past the immediate footprint of the camera which appears to be the case at these scheme locations.

“Where average speed cameras have been used in other parts of the UK the evidence suggests that driver behaviour is influenced over a much longer length of the highway with a corresponding reduction in the number of collisions.

“It is hoped the majority of drivers who use this road and who drive in a responsible manner will influence those that do not and we hope to achieve very high levels of compliance based on evidence from other schemes around the country.”

The SSRP hopes that lessons learned from the cameras will help guide how they may be used in other parts of the county in the future.